The Pride Within
by evilbananalol
Summary: With her brilliant blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes, Ino Yamanka can have any guy she wants eating out of the palm of her had. So why does she falter when she meets this Nara character? And why is SHE feeling wooed by HIM? Just who is this lazy genius
1. Chapter 1

A/N  
>Alrighty, pairings are as follows: shikaino, sasuhina, narusaku, anything else you wanna see? feel free to let me know! ahaha i'm a sasuhina fan at heart, so sorry if there's not enough shikaino in the beginning lol. there will be later on i promise, xD<p>

Special Thanks to UchihaMistress723 for being so awesomely amazing and helping me out with this story! ^_^

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><p>The world is filled with many diverse environments such as oceans, deserts, rain forests, tundras, savannas and jungles. One thing each of these habitats holds in common is the food chain. The smaller, weaker animals tend to be the ideal prey and in turn excel at blending into the background and escaping danger while the bigger, stronger predators tend to slink into the shadows and stalk their victims unnoticed. There are also the outrageously decorated animals vying for a mate or acceptance into their group, and there are the animals that stick together in packs, herds, schools, or even prides.<p>

One would find that the halls of Konoha High were not too different a comparison.

Here during the students' lunch period, countless different cliques scattered about the area eating, chilling with friends, or in most cases, just trying to kill time.

"Looks like Ino's at it again Hina-chan. I feel sorry for whichever poor soul she's got in her clutches this time," stated one student of the many having countless different conversations at once. This particular student was talking with one of her close friends at the moment.

Hinata glanced over, "I do believe that's Temari's little brother, Kankuro."

Sakura and Hinata were sitting outside at there established meeting place under the cherry blossom tree. The two had gotten there early, as per usual, and where waiting on the guys to show up. They sat and watched as the blonde beauty charmed her way into Kankuro's personal bubble. Not that he seemed to mind at all, anyways.

Hinata giggled, "Ino-chan's just being herself Sakura-chan, and would you really expect her to do anything else right about now?"

Sakura sighed, "True. Oh look, here comes the flirt herself," she rolled her eyes.

With a final playful wave, Ino pulled herself away from Kankuro and strode over to her best friends while clutching a piece of paper in one of her manicured hands.

"It's so wonderful of you to join us queen Ino," sarcasm oosed from Sakura's every word.

"Oh you heard about that huh?"

"Heard about what?" Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Queen Ino, we finished your English essay for you!"

"Queen Ino, we have your lunch right here!"

"Here's the magazine you wanted queen Ino!" A loud chorus of many more cheers could be heard from a small crowd that gathered around the girls.

Sakura turned to Ino, "You got them to call you _queen Ino_?"

"I didn't make them do anything! But, it's fitting don't-cha think? I mean I am pretty much top dog around here," she waved off her fans, flipping her perfect hair as she did so.

The Yamanaka shivered at Sakura's piercing glare, "Well you and Hina-chan are right up there too."

The pinkette looked at Hinata, "Do you _hear_ the stuff coming out of her mouth? I swear Ino-pig, you can be such a diva!"

Ever the pacifist, their kindest friend cut in, "So what do you have in your hand Ino-chan?"

Said friend waved her hand dismissively, "Ahh it's just some guy's number, poor sap can't charm a girl to save his life."

"Don't be so quick to judge Ino-chan, I'm sure Sabaku-san is a gentleman."

"Hmm? Oh Kankuro is sooo fine! This is some other guy's number, Kankuro's been in my phone for a while."

"So are you two going out?"

"With who, Kankuro? Oh gosh no! He's just another handsome face darling."

"Hina-chan did you really have to ask?"

"Well I'm sorry, but you never know. Ino-chan may meet that special someone pretty soon."

"Ahaha thanks for the faith, Hina-chan, but I honestly don't think that'll be for a long time. Even though we all know you're taken. How's the bf by the way?"

Hinata blushed, "Everythings fine. Nothing's changed since when you asked me that yesterday."

A hand landed on her shoulder, "So glad you feel that way Miss Hyuga."

Giving a tiny shriek, the Hyuga grabbed the hand on her shoulder. Without thinking she spun around, bringing the arm connected to the hand around with her and twisting it to a painful angle.

Imagine her surprise when her boyfriend stared back at her; a grimace clear on his striking face.

"Oh dear! I am so sorry Sasuke, I thought you were niisan!"

The boys had arrived. Sasuke was staring down at his newly injured wrist while effectively ignoring Naruto's raucous laughter and Kiba's jeers at his machoness.

"Gee thanks hime, I always love being compared to Neji." Sasuke's voice softened as Hinata ran her hands over his wrist.

"Uhhh Hina-chan, just wondering, why would you do that if it was Neji-san was behind you?" The worry was evident in Sakura's voice.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I should be more worried about, the fact that Hinata-chan was able to totally school Sasuke or the fact that she reacts that way to her older brother." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

Sakura scowled, "Naruto, they're cousins! Haven't we been through this before?"

The blond scratched his head, "Oh yeah! Ehehe well it's easy to forget when she calls him 'niisan' all the time."

"Naruto get it through your head!" The two fell into their usual routine.

Kiba sighed, "They're not fooling anybody with the same old act. I don't know why those two don't just go out already."

"Because, muscles, if those two actually did start acting all buddy-buddy then the world would definitely end," Ino flashed him a flirty wink, "It'd also get all uncomfortable and awkward," She ran a hot pink finger nail up Kiba's arm, "If you want an example just take a look at the two lovebirds over there."

He turned to look at Sasuke and Hinata, who were obviously in their own little world. A devilish little half-smile appeared on Sasuke's face and Hinata blushed cherry red. The dog lover chuckled, "Ahaha that is very true."

"Oy! Teme! So've you got any plans for later tonight?"

"Dobe, I have a girlfriend. Why on earth would you try and ask me out?"

"I'm not gay teme!"

Sasuke smirked, "Could've fooled me." Everyone rolled their eyes at the two best friends.

A foxy grin appeared on Naruto's face, "For your information, I've got a date with Sakura-chan tonight!"

Ino's jaw dropped.

Sasuke shrugged, "You're point?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Ehehe, thing is Sakura said she'd only come if someone else was coming so I was wondering if you and Hinata-chan wanted to join us."

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend, "It's alright with me."

The Uchiha had different plans, "No, if we're going, at least let me finish something first," he dropped his head in her lap and pulled out his phone.

Ino grabbed Hinata by the shoulders, disturbing an already disgruntled Uchiha, "It's not fine with me! We were supposed to go to see the new movie remember! You, me, and billboard brow! What am I supposed to do without the two of you?"

The dark haired girl in her clutches gave a small smile, "Well I guess we could make it a triple date. You could come with us and bring Kankuro with you if you want."

The blond released her and huffed, "I don't like Kankuro."

Sasuke looked up from his phone, "I know someone you can go with. I was supposed to meet up with him this afternoon. If I'm going along with this I'm gonna need somebody sane to help back me up with certain decisions my girlfriend refuses to get entagled in."

Hinata rolled her eyes and took on a teasing tone, "You Uchiha men are such _drama_ _queens_."

Ino perked up, "Is your friend cute?"

Sasuke shrugged, "How the hell would I, of all people, know if my _guy-_friend was cute? His name's Shikamaru. You interested or not?"

"He-hey, You talkin' 'bout ol' Shika-man! Chouji says he's quite the lady's man," Naruto said, waggling his eyebrows.

Ino grinned, "Then count me in." _This is gonna be fun._

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><p><em><em>A/N

So that's it! Anything you wanna see? Anything you don't wanna see? Leave a review and tell me how I did!

And once again, a shout out to UchihaMistress723 for being a total boss lol. ^_^

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N) Woops, my bad. Kinda dropped off the face of the earth for a couple of months. Just a whole series of unfortunate events; first the laptop died, then i blew the modem, and accidentally cleaned out all my files... *sigh* Why technology, why?

This chapter may seem kinda rushed as motivation seems to be quite elusive and appears only in short bursts of caffeine induced study periods. Lol, if anyone has found a cure to writers block could they please share it with the rest of the world? I'm sure you'd make millions.

Anyway, special thanks to UchihaMistress723 for being awesomely amazing! I do not own Naruto and I really want to eat my cookie. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

"Hey billboard-brow, take a quick picture of me and Hina-chan!" Ino grabbed the petite Hyuga and posed in front of the large water fountain at the center of the theme park. Sakura rolled her eyes and took a step back to get the camera into focus. She felt her back hit someone and turned around to apologize. She felt the world spin as she lost focus for a moment.

A warm pair of hands landed on her shoulders and steadied her, "Ahaha don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll take the picture," Sakura looked up at the smiling whiskered face and blushed. Naruto motioned for her to join the girls and, with a reluctant smile, she went to stand by her two friends. Ino grinned even more and pulled her into a group hug.

Sasuke stood behind Naruto frowning down at his watch, "Where the hell is that lazy idiot? There is no way I'm doing this alone."

Naruto smiled behind the camera then faked a hurt expression, "You make it seem like you don't enjoy my company Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke smacked the chuckling blond upside his head, "Don't. Call. Me. That," he said with a sharp glare, "Ever."

"You know, if it weren't for the fact that your girlfriend's probably standing right over there, Uchiha, I'd swear you had a thing for Uzumaki," the group turned their attention to a tall, slouched figure. Ino took in the dark brown hair pulled into a spiked pony tail and smirked to herself, she loved brunettes. Continuing in shamelessly checking out the man before her, Ino took note of the guy's pierced ears and her grin widened. _Mmm bonus points for the piercings, this guy's a total ten!_

Oblivious to the girl's thoughts the brunette turned to look at Sasuke and offered a lazy grin, "It's been a while Sasuke," said Uchiha returned the grin and offered his hand, which the other male took without hesitation. Naruto, feeling rather left out, took the opportunity to pounce and had the man in a headlock.

"Shikamaru! Man, I haven't seen you in forever how ya been!"

He managed to escape the Uzumaki's grasp and sighed, rubbing his neck, "Naruto you haven't changed a bit."

Ino flashed Sakura and Hinata a confident smirk before pulling the two girls along with her towards the hot newcomer. "Hey there! Shikamaru right? You obviously know these guys so I'll introduce you to us women over here because it doesn't seem anyone's remembered their manners," Ino jumped right into a conversation, quite bluntly, " Yamanaka Ino at your service, and these lovely ladies here are Haruno Sakura," the pinkette offered an amiable smile, "and Hyuga Hinata," said Hyuga bowed, "Pleasure to meet you," Ino smiled and batted her eyelashes.

He gave a lazy wave in return, "Nara Shikamaru, pleasure's mine," he gave her a passive glance and turned back to Sasuke.

Ino blinked, _he did not just brush me off! _The blond shared a glance with Sakura, _Did you see that too?_

The addressed best friend offered a helpless smile, _Maybe he was just zoning. Try again._

Ino pouted a little before she caught Hinata's eye, _Don't worry. I'm sure you're just imagining things, _the girls continued to converse via the unspoken body language of women.

With silent huff, Ino turned back to Shikamaru, "So where do we wanna go first?"

The brunette sighed, "Troublesome, ask one of them," he nodded his head towards the two bickering brother-like friends.

Sakura pulled her date away from Sasuke, "Don't you dare start a fight here! We're in the middle of a theme park control yourself!"

Deep cerulean eyes flashed with mock hurt, "Ne, ne Sakura-chan, how come you don't yell at Sasuke!"

Sakura smirked, "Because Sasuke's so whipped his own girlfriend's taken care of that."

Hinata was fussing over the Uchiha. Her voice so soft it barely flitted over the din of the theme park. Only a few little snippets of "you should be nicer," and "respect your friends" were able to be heard.

Shikamaru chuckled, "I didn't think you'd ever let anyone fuss over you like that. Looks like the tin man's found a heart after all."

Sasuke scowled, "Don't push it Nara. I heard how you let that Tayuya girl walk all over you a while back."

Shikamaru shrugged, "Eh, it's too troublesome too bother. Besides, there's a difference between the two of us. I don't have my own life-sized ego." Naruto burst out laughing, spitting his drink all over a random passerby in the process.

Sasuke smirked, "Not bad Nara."

_You have got to be kidding me! _Ino flashed Sakura and Hinata an exasperated look, _Are they flirting with each other or what? I mean there are three perfectly gorgeous women standing right next to them and they choose to bicker with each other!_ Hinata gave a helpless smile, _why don't you do something about it Ino-chan?_

Ino smiled, well of course! Why didn't she do something before? With her mind set she set a fingernail to her chin, "So what's the plan, guys?" She aimed her shockingly blue eyes at Shikamaru.

She sweat dropped as the three men continued with their conversation. Ino stormed over to her two best friends, "This. Is. Hopeless."

Sakura shrugged and looked at Hinata. A smirk lit up the pinkette's face, "Well then I guess it's every girl for herself."

Before Ino had a chance to ask, Sakura had floated over to their three dates.

"Come on Naruto, let's go on the ferris wheel! Just you and me," a coy smile present.

Ino's huffed indignantly, _I thought this was a team effort!_ She watched as Sakura pulled Naruto away, "Guess it's just you and me, right Hina-chan?"

Borrowing Sakura's tactics, Sasuke spoke up, "Hey hime, that looks like a fun ride over there, let's go check it out," With his hand on the small of Hinata's back, Sasuke quickly led the Hyuga away.

Shikamaru's eyebrows raised, bewildered, "Hey, where are you guys headed?"

The Uchiha muttered something about 'rollercoasters' and disappeared into the crowd, his girlfriend in tow.

With a sigh, he turned to the Yamanaka, "I think we just got ditched."

Ino smiled inwardly, "Figures, they probably planned that ahead of time. Let's just try and enjoy the evening while we can." _Just you and me. Shika-sweety, I'll have you out of the palm of my hand soon enough._

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><p>It's short, I know. -_-' My bad, I'm running short on creativity. Feel free to leave a review filled with any suggestions, critiques, and what not. Wanna see more of a certain pairing? Wanna see less of a certain pairing? Let me know! ^_^<p> 


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